1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device and a method for marking cigarette packets. In particular, the present invention relates to a device and a method for marking cigarette packets with information for manufacturers and/or retailers and/or customers, for example information about the time and aggregate of manufacture, the company, authenticity, progression of delivery or also customer information, in plain writing or encoded.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, such information has been impressed onto the foil section of a cigarette packet or applied to it in some other way, such that the packet had to be opened to read the information. Methods later became known for applying information to the outer side of the cigarette packet, for example by ink jet printing or laser labeling. There exists here in principle the requirement that the flow of cigarette packets during production is, as far as possible, not interrupted or stopped.
WO 01/54986 discloses a method and an arrangement for marking cigarette packets, wherein the cigarette packets are placed on a conveyor belt and are guided past a marking means, for example a laser or printing device. It is not ensured during marking that the cigarette packets are held stably on the conveyor belt. This can lead to inaccuracies during marking.
WO 02/04297 discloses a device for marking in which opposite side areas of the cigarette packets are clamped by two continuous belts running in parallel, and guided past a printing device. Either side sections of a cigarette packet protruding from the continuous belt only or side areas not clamped by the conveyor belts can be printed on. Therefore, comparatively large side areas of a cigarette packet cannot be marked, which restricts the marking possibilities.
DE 100 04 022 A1 discloses a method and a device for attaching coding to cigarette packets which are either designed comparably to WO 02/04297 A1 or in which cigarette packets are guided in a circle in a drying revolver and labeled using a laser. In this arrangement, too, the area available for marking is subject to equipment-related restrictions.